virago|c.g.|

xvi

Clary remembered her first grade year, which had been so long ago and she had tried to forget it after losing her father, but the memories still held. The memory of a certain little girl that saw who Clary was before the loss still remained. Clary had been terrible at making friends, until she met the young quiet girl that she didn't think she'd recognize after so many years until she stood before her. Maybe she wouldn't have had it not been for the nickname, knowing there was only one person to have ever called her such. "E?" The nickname rolled easily off her tongue, even after not using it for almost a decade. Enid's eyes softened as she nodded, letting out a soft laugh. "I— I didn't want to tell you immediately. I got a feeling and so I went through your journal and saw a picture of your mom and your older sister and I— I knew it was you." Taking a step forward, Enid spoke softly. "But I didn't want to scare you or make you think I was a creep for even remembering and—" Clary shut Enid up as she rushed forward, allowing herself to feel in that moment a sense of hope. Enid didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around the other girl, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. She had always felt alone in Alexandria, but to see a part of her past, even if it was from so long ago, was more comforting than anything she had experienced.

As Clary pulled away, she held tightly onto Enid's arms before letting out a surprising laugh. "I— out of all things to bring us back together—" Enid nodded, almost in disbelief. "It had to be the apocalypse." The two girls found themselves laughing together, realizing how crazy and small the world was to stumble on the same community months apart. With a clenched jaw, Clary felt sadness embedded within her. "I'm sorry I left so suddenly. My mom never even gave me a chance to say goodbye, she just told us about our dad being gone and packed us up." Enid shook her head, not at all angry with the girl. "It's okay. I— I tried to look for you, can you imagine that? Little buck toothed, eight year old me determined to find her best friend?" The two laughed at the thought of the image. "My mom forced me to let it go but I— I never forgot about you." Another laughed sounded from her lips. "Fate has a funny way of playing out, don't you think?" Clary nodded, wondering why fate allowed her to find comfort in a person she hadn't seen in so long yet the connection seemingly unbroken as they found it was still there.

So the two girls spent most of the day at the small corral, talking about the lives they lived after losing each other. From friendships that never really worked out to what the end of the world had made the two girls into. Clary even taught her how to ride Montu for a short time as the sun began to set. What was hours spent catching up seemed to pass by in minutes, until Clary looked at the rapidly falling sun. "I should get back home, Maggie didn't want me back too late." As Clary stepped away, Enid turned to her. "Is that what it is? Home? Can you see this place as home?" Enid questioned. Clary looked to the girl, who held hope in her eyes. Clary climbed over the fencing, giving one last look to her horse before nodding. "I— I think I can, in time. I'm starting to. I thought Solaris had been home but it was just where I stayed. Where I lead. It's the people that made a place a home, and losing my sister made me lose that home. Losing Millie made me want to forget that it was ever where I lived, but then I couldn't because it gave me them." She let out a soft laugh. "But I think, like you said, fate has a funny way of putting us where we need to be." Enid gave a soft smile, happy with the revelation that Clary didn't seem like she would be leaving anytime soon. With one last hug, the two departed to their separate houses with the knowledge that they had each other after so many years apart.

As Clary entered the home, she was surprised to see Maggie and Glenn at the dining room table. The two had been placing food on the table, their eyes averting to the door and the girl as it shut closed. "Clary—" turning, the girl saw Maggie approaching. "I'm sorry, I got caught up but—" Maggie shook her head. "I was going to say you're right on time." Maggie gave her a kind smile, to which Clary sent a small smile in return. She was surprised that she had been thinking of her mother, who had gotten mad whenever she had been late to anything that her mother had planned. She thanked God everyday that her mother had never had such a temper to where she would hurt her or her sister, but the hiding away in her studio hurt enough. But seeing Maggie's kind face, she felt at ease. So the three sat there, Glenn telling the two that Deanna had taken him and Nicholas off of run duty for the time being. Maggie mentioned that Abraham, a man that Clary had seen briefly yet remembered, had been put in charge of the construction crew. It was after they had finished sharing that they turned to Clary, who had been silent. "And you? You've been quiet," Glenn said, cussing Clary to look up with surprise Clary at being addressed. "Just thinking," was all Clary could say, the two adults glancing to each other.  "About?" Clary thought about what she would have done, perhaps shrugged them off and just gone upstairs. But she had been truthful with Enid when she said she could see herself trying to create some life here. So she would try.

"I found out that Enid was my best friend from first grade. We had been attached to the hip until I had moved. It's crazy to think I'd find consolation in finding my best friend from so long ago, but I did." A soft laugh sounded. "She said fate has a funny way of playing out and... I agree. But I'm not sure if I believe in fate or if maybe it was just a coincidence."As she looked at the two, she saw them exchange looks. The girl, always so sure of what she had to say, shook her head in embarrassment. "It's a stupid thought, I'm—" Glenn shook his head. "No, it's not, Clary. It— it's a thought I believe a lot of us have had." Maggie nodded at Glenn's words before bringing her attention to the young girl and speaking. "Sometimes I do believe in fate, you know? Sometimes I think it was fate that led me to meet Glenn, that brought my group back together after our home was taken when we thought we'd never find each other again." Clary watched as Maggie's face fell. "But then, sometimes, I don't want to believe in fate because why would it make me lose my family? Why would fate lead us to lose the world we knew? But then it all goes back to everything happens for a reason, so I can't say we'll ever know." Clary nodded, seeing that Maggie had spoken for Glenn in the way they think. She admired the two of them in that way, the way they thought as one.

"I guess I see it like that too. I used to think that it was fate to become what I did, to come across Solaris and work my way up to become Commander. I never belonged in the old world, not in the way I do when I'm fighting the way I do now." Clary shrugged. "Sometimes I wonder if fate played a part in that, giving me this world that led me to become what I needed to be. But then I think fate took all I knew and brought me here, to a place that I don't even know why but I can see becoming my home. To a place where I don't even know why your group, and even the two of you take me in as your own, as if I was family from the beginning—" Clary shut her mouth hastily, realizing she had said a lot more than she had ever planned to share. But as she saw the joy in their faces at the revelation, she wondered if they had waited for her words to display their own feelings towards her. It was Glenn that spoke, breaking her thoughts. "Like Maggie said, I think everything happens for a reason. Call that fate or coincidence, they're kind of the same. So maybe, just maybe, the tragedy you had to go through was to help you get here, where you can hopefully find happiness and a home." There was that word again. Home. She smiled softly at the thought before she nodded, the heavy conversation soon dissipating yet remaining on their minds as they continued to eat.